Biodiversity covers all natural environments and forms of life, as well as their relations and interactions. It comprises three interdependent aspects:

• The diversity of species
• The diversity of individuals within each species
• And the diversity of ecosystems

It is the result of over 3 billion years of evolution and constitutes a natural heritage and vital resource on which humanity depends in many ways.

Humans are an integral part of this biodiversity, which they need to protect to continue to have natural resources and services rendered by ecosystems that are essential to their survival. Yet a number of ecosystems are today threatened due to human activity. Given the current rate of the extinction of species, half of the living species we know could disappear over the next century. Ecosystems are also threatened: 60% of the world’s ecosystems have been degraded over the past 50 years, and two-thirds of ecosystems are currently exploited beyond their capacities. These extinctions, degradations and overexploitation directly threaten the survival of the human race.
 

Since its creation in 1994, FFEM’s strategy for operations has been aligned with France’s international commitments related to the Convention on Biological Diversity and its protocols (Nagoya and Cartagena), and more specifically with the Aichi Targets.

FFEM specifically targets its financing on sustainable natural resources management, support for an effective and sustainable management of protected areas (terrestrial, coastal and marine) and biodiversity conservation actions. FFEM thereby contributes to:

• The conservation of species and ecosystems
• The sustainable exploitation of natural resources by populations, to turn them into an asset for economic and social development.